Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

a question for gordinho80 or anybody.

BDS, ReadyLift, Smaxx... You name it, we know about it here.

by dirty anton » Sun Oct 03, 2010 1:20 am

hey i was checking out your suspension thread and noticed a nut or bolt through a small metal plate holding down the bottom of the rear skyjacker softride coil spring. is this something you or someone else installed. maybe this would help solve some of the metal on metal clunking problems some people are having.
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by Trail X » Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:53 pm

That's something that AlekG used to help hold in his skyjacker springs during full extension.

You'll have to contact him to get details.
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by The Roadie » Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:30 pm

Nobody has ever done a similar thing with Z71 springs, but Alek's Fab Guy is very conservative.
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by dirty anton » Sun Oct 03, 2010 8:30 pm

interesting.....okay thanx guys.
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by teebes » Sun Oct 03, 2010 10:45 pm

Especially with stock control arms ( and other limiting factors ), they aren't necessary. The rear just can't flex enough to spit em out.

On another note, I took some flex shots of my setup (pre new rear contorl arms) and will post them shortly (expect another thread). :drive:
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by madmanvillain » Mon Oct 04, 2010 1:27 pm

i seem to remember something with land rovers and a cone with their springs...i have to do some more research to figure out what im talking about...but i think they were so if the rear spring over extended it would guide it back into place
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by Saxis » Mon Oct 04, 2010 5:08 pm

Haven't figure out exactly where my clunking sound is coming from yet. Definitely around the springs though. I guess some people with the BDS lift have had noise issues with the spacer not locking in quite tight, which means they left too much of the mounting bolt heads sticking out (In case you didn't know, the BDS spacers twist and lock in place via 3 bolt heads in the factory Air Spring mounting slots). I've heard that can be fixed by applying RTV sealant to the spacer and then installing.

As for the Z71 springs themselves, if you look at the parts for the Tahoe, they have the rubber isolators on top and bottom of the spring. For whatever reason, they only go on the top of Trailvoys.. :scratch: . For a $8/each part, next time I have the springs out for my AirLift install, I think I'll put an isolator on each end, including RTV sealant on my BDS spacer. I'll need to pull the springs out to do the install anyway so I can run the air lines through the top isolator. Damn things don't come with holes.. :wallbash: .
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by dirty anton » Mon Oct 04, 2010 10:19 pm

yea thats what i did. it t worked out great.... i know this is kinda confusing but this is the configuration i used to solve my clunking problem in the rear while wheelin and on some sharp speed bumps on the street....here goes,from bottom of spring to top.... (spring isolator-z71 spring-spring isolator-mark mc spacer-thick rubber pad against truck. now there is no metal on metal contac. not a sound. this has been working great for the last 4 months. but seeing the skyjacker pic with the bolt thru the plate holding the spring down seemed alot simpler. at least for one end of the spring....now if we could do that for both ends.somehow incorperating the mcmaster spacer being bolted thru as well. there wouldnt be any seperation or metal on metal hitting on full extension.....just thinking.
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by Regulator1175 » Mon Oct 04, 2010 10:42 pm

Saxis wrote:Haven't figure out exactly where my clunking sound is coming from yet. Definitely around the springs though.


Just as a quick item to check, I had a clucking that I thought was in the suspension. It turned out to be the fuel evaporator sitting just forward of the fuel tank. It had come unclipped from its mount and was sitting on the frame. On decent bumps it was bouncing on the frame.
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by Saxis » Tue Oct 05, 2010 3:40 pm

I'm pretty sure it's on one end of the springs/spacers. Can't hear it much just hitting bumps straight on, but get the vehicle rocking and you can really hear it from side to side, on both up and down strokes. Not too worried about it right now though. I didn't have the isolators during my initial install (I converted from Air Ride), so it was all metal on metal and made the noise. I ordered the isolators and put them between the spring and spacer as BDS instructs, but that didn't help. I'm just waiting on funds so I can do the Air Lift install and other isolators in one shot.
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by dirty anton » Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:47 pm

yea let me know what happens, im always interested in what others are doing in similar situations. thanx for the feedback.
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